By Robert Weiner, John Horton, and Richard Mann Originally published in the Michigan Chronicle

At the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, one of North
Carolina's famous sons, the 2004 Vice Presidential Nominee, was clearly
absent, and with him, the issue for which he had become a national
spokesman. In 2004, John Edwards cemented himself as a symbol for the
fight against poverty. However, since then his personal failures have
forced him and his favorite issue off the map.

There is no question that the John Edwards case is a personal tragedy
because of the former Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate's
moral depravity -- having an affair and illegitimate child while his
wife had cancer, and obtaining lots of money to cover it all up. It is
a tragedy for Elizabeth Edwards, for himself, and for the Democratic
Party. It also has stopped his once rocketing career dead -- he was a
top tier Presidential candidate in 2008.

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CNN's Candy Crowley this Sunday said the Democratic Convention
emphasized "the middle class, the middle class, and the middle
class." We are all for the middle, but what about those
underneath? We know what Tampa and the Republican Convention
appealed to--the top. Only the Democrats have any hope of bringing
the bottom up.

In 2004 and 2008, Edwards spoke eloquently about "two Americas" and
about poverty. As we watched C-Span re-run his 2004 convention speech
recently, at first we felt a grating unease because of his personal
misbehavior. But then the power of the speech took over--it was
riveting. As he spoke, the issue was front and center. Since
then, all we have heard on the issue is" silence.

Poverty exploded over the last decade with one in six people living
below the poverty line, while the top American tiers have gotten
progressively richer--since 2010 alone, 93% of all new wealth in America
has gone to the top 1%. Detroit has a shocking 44% of residents
below the poverty level and Michigan as a whole has 21% below
poverty. Meanwhile, the policies of both parties, whether under
pressure to get anything done or due to coziness with campaign
contributors, has been to give more and more tax breaks to the richest
Americans despite evidence that jobs and GDP growth have not trickled
down from the tax cuts. "Trickle Down" has not worked since
Hoover tried it. For all the Republican hoopla about tax breaks for the
"job creators," the ongoing Bush tax cuts clearly aren't creating jobs.

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Even though Edwards betrayed his family, his party, and America, the
country's impoverished citizens should hope the issue makes a comeback.
The nation needs a top spokesman for poverty. We have our
corporate advocates" hey, Mitt Romney says "corporations are people"
and we should talk about income disparity "in back rooms." Romney
and new running mate Paul Ryan want to slash Medicare, repeal national
health insurance, privatize Social Security, ask college kids to find
their tuition by borrowing from their parents, and even cut a fifth of
food stamps" This all sounds like we'll have people back on
the streets fending from garbage pails and in bread lines--a return to
the pre-New Deal Days

The last time we had a real effort against poverty in America was
Lyndon Johnson's War On Poverty. Since then, the rich tax cutters
have had a different kind of War on Poverty--one expanding the numbers
by giving to the rich and to military contractors. Democrats should
again lead an America we will be proud of, one with values for
all. However, without a big-time spokesman for an issue, one who
tirelessly, vocally, and with lots of media, presses and re-presses the
point, policy, and legislation, nothing real will happen. If there is a
dedicated high profile advocate on the Hill or in a major position, yes
we can make the change.

One potential spokesman for the impoverished is John Conyers (D-Mich),
newly empowered with his 40+ point primary win over credible
opponents. By his job creation bill, "The Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century
Full Employment and Training Act of 2012," he hopes to create millions
of new public jobs and provide job training. Led by Congressional Black
Caucus Dean and Judiciary Committee top Democrat Conyers, his sharp
legislative assistant Joel Segal, and Jobs for All Coalition National
Director Mike Hersh, the effort has already received support from the
NAACP, National Organization of Women (NOW), the AFL-CIO, and national
student groups. The bill has over 50 congressional cosponsors.

John Edwards, you launched a cause but blew it. We need a
new-found hero to come to the fore and take America back to our proud
values. Who will it be, or are we destined for more policies of the
rich, by the rich, and for the rich?

Robert Weiner is a former senior Clinton White House spokesman and
former aide to Congressmen John Conyers, Charles Rangel, Claude Pepper,
Ed Koch, and Senator Ted Kennedy. He is a national columnist and
radio-television commentator who covers the White House and Congress
and wrote the epilogue to Bankole Thompson's groundbreaking book, Obama
and Christian Loyalty. John Horton is a former policy analyst at
Robert Weiner
Associates. Richard Mann is senior political assistant at Robert
Weiner Associates and Solutions for Change

Robert Weiner,
NATIONAL PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND ISSUES STRATEGIST
Bob Weiner, a national issues and public affairs strategist, has been spokesman for and directed the public affairs offices of White House Drug Czar and Four Star General Barry (more...)